Dancing Lessons
by Psycofoxx
Summary: While looking for the true meaning of Althena's teachings, Leo runs into Jean.


  Dancing Lessons

     _Okay, for starters, don't ask me how this became a romance. The characters did not have my permission to do that, it just happened. Secondly, this is meant as a one shot, if anyone wants me to continue this stupid idea, then they'll have to give me some kind of idea._

      Well it was hardly a secluded mountaintop, in fact it was probably the farthest thing from. The thought that this wasn't exactly what he'd been looking for when he set out on his solitary journey of personal discovery crossed Leo's mind more than once as he maneuvered his way through the crowds of people at the carnival.

    Without the white knight uniform or the Dragonship Destiny, he had entered the carnival like the hundreds of others flocking through the gates; being pushed and shoved along with the rest of them. And maybe that's what he really needed, anonymity within a crowd, being part of them instead of a pace aside. If happiness was what the true Althena desired from her people, then this was the perfect place, away from his self imposed solitude- not that he had really been solitary, he had traveled half the world before finding ending up in Gahleon's fortress and it's garden of pixies. Then Hiro had arrived, with the more accessible companions of their group, and another adventure; and he'd offered his assistance. When that adventure had ended and Hiro was finally with Lucia, they had all parted again; Ronfar to Mauri, Ruby to Nall, Lemina to her mother, and Jean to the gypsies; while he tried to work things out with himself.

   He had spent more time cursing himself for his stupidity than really soul-searching. It was still hard to believe that all that he had believed in for so many years had been lies, not only that but lies deliberately in opposition to the true goddess. Ronfar had tried to tell him all those years ago as well, before he left for Larpa, but he'd been too convinced- he had been chosen as one of the four heroes, and nothing had compared to that feeling, not even his best friend, not his sister going mad. 

    He sometimes wondered how things would have been different if he had seen it sooner, if he'd been able to save her from those years she had spent burning in Zophar's hell; she dismissed his self-recrimination when he came to visit. She smiled in the way she always had and said she was happy and what was past didn't matter. Ronfar echoed the same, they all had their dark corners to deal with. Of course he and Mauri didn't see to have a problem getting on, they spent their days building up Raculi, and basking in each others love. 

     Maybe it was the doubts that drove him to adopt Mystere's persona again in Takkar. Dealing out vigilante justice, (and no small amount of collateral property damage) had been a distraction. Mystere had no doubts, there was good to uphold and evil to vanquish. Thinking about it, Mystere would fit right into the carnival. Loud, brash, colorful, and prone to theatrics; in everything the antithesis of what he had espoused as knight to the false goddess. 

     He wandered around for a good while, playing at games, and in the chamber of giggles; finally, settling for the shows at the end of the carnival. Singers, acrobats, and the fire-breather who dedicated his act to the red dragon- who he swore he had met personally in the form of a pink cat. Jean came on last, as night was falling. When she walked into the empty patch of grass that served for a stage, a shout of "She's starting, she's starting" came up from the back, as others who had been waiting for this singular performance came running.

     She wore a new dress that whirled resplendently around her in streams of pale blue silk, the color making her exposed legs appear darker and more exotic. Strings of blue glass beads were wrapped around her waist and in her hair, glinting in the firelight so that her green tresses looked like a fountain reflecting the light of the blue star. She pulled out her ribbon bedecked fans, made of long soft feathers of gray, white and blue. 

     She began dancing with a slow sweeping movement of her fans, then a sudden kick that launched into something faster. The sheer grace of her movements exhibited the master martial artist in her, as well as the beautiful dancer. Each movement had a purpose, her fans sliding open and closed, even the swish of her skirts and her hair was calculated, every step placed in time with the music with a perfection that surpassed concentration, to be only reflex. While she danced, Jean was an embodiment of the music, she flowed with it, letting her body speak a language older than words. 

      She danced until the blue star was rising in the sky, and even the most devoted of her fans had to leave or fall asleep where he sat, most of the booths had long since been closed up for the night. She made a graceful bow before walking over to lean against one of the wagons panting for breath. That was when she noticed him sitting in the shadows outside of the firelight.

   "Leo!" she exclaimed happily. The happiness was suddenly replaced with apprehension, "Nothing has happened has it?"

   "No, everything is alright that I know of."

   "Well, have you finished your journey? What brings you here?"

   "I don't really know myself. I thought a lot about what I was. I think the only way to redeem myself, truly, in my own eyes, would to become a true follower of Althena."

    "Aren't you?" Jean asked coming over to him, "In the time we've known each other, and fought together, you always did what you thought was the right thing. Your faith was unshakeable, even when you were deceived."

    "I have learned, that faith in her image and embodiment, doesn't equate to understanding Althena's message. I was deceived precisely because I thought to follow her name and not the lessons she laid down the last time she came." He didn't bother to say what they both knew, that the last time was literally the very last time Althena would ever appear, she had chosen love over godhood, and in that was her greatest lesson, that love was beyond everything else, even duty. Althena was gone forever in person, the only thing remaining was her message of love and happiness- the message he had nearly destroyed in trusting his duty over his heart.

    "But you know now, Leo," Jean responded "You have to put aside your past mistakes to move on to your future. I know I will never forget what the shadow cult did to me and those other children, but I will never let that past dominate the life I make for myself now. That is what I have learned from Althena and all of my companions."

     "I still have things to work out myself. I know what was wrong, but I'm no closer to understanding Althena's truth than I was."

    Jean smiled knowingly, and- held out her hand? Leo looked up confused.

    "Althena gave us music, Leo. Dance with me."

    When he hesitated, she only smiled softer, "It's okay, nothing is forbidden anymore."

    He took her hand, still somewhat stunned. She spun him around and he stumbled and fell against her. "Move your feet like this." Jean said laughing, letting go long enough to show him what she meant in her perfect form, then taking his hand again and leading him through the steps. This time he stepped on her foot. Jean stepped back, hopping on one foot for a moment. "Maybe you should take off those clumsy boots. You need to be lighter."

    Leo still wasn't sure what to think, he was pretty sure his brain was still where he had been sitting and hadn't caught up with him yet. He did exactly as she told him anyway, leaving his travel cloak behind as well.

     She performed a set of elaborate moves, then took his hand and tried to lead him through it. He stepped on her feet again, and bumped into her head. She smiled and shook her head, then tried again. He tripped again, this time taking her down with him. 

    "Sorry!" he got out, twitching his ears in mortal embarrassed. She still didn't lose patience with him. 

    "Hmm, maybe we should be starting with something slower than that!" She laughed, "This is one reason I never started a dojo, I'm a terrible teacher."

    She stood and brushed dirt from her skirt, while Leo stood a bit more slowly. She took one of his hands in hers, while the other she placed against her hip, wrapping her free hand around his waist. "This is a waltz," She informed him, "You lead. Like this," she demonstrated quickly. "Okay now, one-two-three, one-two-three."

     He tried to be more cautious of her feet this time, but he still misstepped occasionally. This dance was by far going better than the other though, he didn't knock her over again. Her patience was astounding, but now that he thought of it, it fit. By far, Jean was the one of their companions that had suffered the most in her life, when the cruel man he had once considered a comrade had stolen her childhood. She had been taught how to kill before she could read; and still she lived her life with happiness. She had emerged from her dark past with hopes for the future, and of all of them, had recovered most completely from her ordeals. She easily understood the goddess best; singing, dancing, and loving life and all the people she met, and living completely with all the strength of her heart.

     The blue star was high in the sky, bathing them with light, even as the fire pits around them died down to embers. She had rested her cheek against his in the slowly circling dance, "You're doing better." She whispered against his ear; and he realized that this was true. When he's stopped trying so hard, the steps had come naturally. She had stopped counting rhythm and he hadn't even noticed; he'd been busy studying her. He thought he understood now; dancing wasn't an escape used to forget troubles. It was the flow of dancing, the natural beauty that made your entire body the voice of your soul, that made the now more important than the past. It was just them now, the whole world could have been standing just outside the dance circle and it would've been just them. He couldn't remember feeling quite so relaxed, not since his childhood with Ronfar and Mauri, the people he loved. 

    Loved? He stopped then, holding her and looking at her face in the darkness. She was so beautiful she might have been the goddess herself, but the goddess was love as well, so maybe that was true. 

   __


End file.
